It’s not as if I’m madly in love with Blue Box or anything. I like it for all the reasons I always have, and don’t love it for the same reasons I always have. Boy boy, this season is such a stinker that any time a series I’m following is missing, it leaves a yawning gap in the schedule. So yeah, I definitely missed it. Spending time with these two leads is always a pleasure, even if spending time with anybody else is kind of a crapshoot.
It’s too effing early for Christmas, though that doesn’t stop the merchandising managers for almost every shop in Japan and the KFC marketing team for jumping in with both feet. It doesn’t stop Ao no Hako either but that’s where we’re at in the narrative, so it’s unavoidable. Yumeka does go to Chinatsu’s first Softbank Cup game (guilt trips do work, even on her). And unsurprisingly, she finds herself getting caught up in it as the game progresses. Especially when it turns into a real nail-biter after Eisei had gotten off to a great start. But Chi saves the day with a buzzer-beater (after a couple of loose mistakes that leave Eisei down by a point).
I do think Taiki was right to worry whether he should have warned Chi that Yumeka was coming – you’d hate to think about her being thrown off her game by the surprise. But it works out in that she doesn’t realize Yumeka is there until she blurts out a exhortation when that final shot is leaving Chi’s hand. As I’ve said I find the whole subplot to be pretty much a whiff (I guess airball would be the better metaphor) but it does end as it probably should, in terms of realism. I definitely imagine the two of them getting weepy in the aftermath of the game. And to give credit where it’s due, Yumeka does tell Chinatsu where and how she got the ticket.
The Xmas party is in full swing in the blue box, with the badminton boys lamenting their lack of traditional (in Japanese terms) Xmas distractions. Taiki and Hina have one of their typically awkward encounters, a reminder that their relationship is nowhere near having gotten past what’s happened (and not happened) between them. Ayame gives the guys Christmas cookies, with a plus-sized bag for Kyou. You know, “for his siblings”. Whatever is left in the air is left hanging there as Ayame and Hina head off to Xmas karaoke, leaving the guys to work off their frustrations in the gym (and Taiki on pins and needles wondering what happened with Chi).
In the end this is still Christmas Eve, and Chinatsu and Taiki want the same thing – they know where they’re supposed to be, even if they’re still deep in denial. Taiki never makes a move to claim credit for the Yumeka thing – Chi only knows the truth because of hearsay evidence. That’s totally Taiki of course, and happily Chinatsu blows off her team dinner to head to the gym and be where she should be on this of all nights. He hasn’t gotten past the point where he still needs deniability (he’s only 15) but you can see the pair of them slowly start the act like the couple they are, even if they don’t acknowledge it yet.
